February 10th.
At Wald Pictures, the bosses were having a big meeting about their new movie, My Big Fat Greek Wedding.
The movie only cost $5 million to make, but because Zane cared about it, they had already spent $3 million on ads. That was a lot of money!
"Old Bill," said Kevin Feige, the vice president, "the movie has gotten great reviews from critics and audiences. I think it's going to be a hit. We don't need to spend more money on ads right now."
Many of the other bosses agreed.
"Seconded!"
"It's a low-budget movie. We've spent enough."
"Spending more money blindly isn't smart."
In Hollywood, knowing when to spend money on ads is a very important skill. You don't just throw money away.
"No!" said Old Bill, the president. He had a different opinion.
"Don't rush to say no," Bill said calmly. "Let me show you some numbers."
He pulled out a stack of papers.
Movie 1: "Payback." This was a new action movie starring Mel Gibson, a huge Hollywood superstar. It had just come out on February 5th and made $21 million in its first weekend. Experts said it would make at least $80 million.
"Guys," Bill said seriously, "that's Mel Gibson. We can't underestimate him. We need more ads to compete."
Movie 2: "She's All That." This was a teen movie about high school. It cost $10 million to make and had already made $29 million in just 13 days! It was a huge hit with young people.
"Everyone," Bill said, "the newspapers are calling this the 'start of a new teen movie boom.' It is a very strong opponent."
Kevin Feige frowned, but he nodded. Bill was right.
Movie 3: "Message in a Bottle." This was a romance movie from Warner Bros. It was based on a book by Nicholas Sparks, the "king of love stories." (He also wrote The Notebook!) He was one of the most famous writers in America.
"The audience for a movie like that is huge!" Bill said. "With three strong movies like Payback, She's All That, and Message in a Bottle... even if our movie is great, we are going to have a hard time. We need to fight for attention."
The room went quiet. Everyone realized Bill was right.
"Old Bill," Kevin said, "you've convinced me. I support your plan."
Kevin was young, but he was smart enough to admit when he was wrong. That was why Zane liked him.
...
Not long after, Zane heard about the meeting.
"Hehe," Zane smiled. "An old hand is a treasure! The old saying is true."
Old Bill might not be as fast as the young guys, but his decades of experience were worth their weight in gold.
"Boss," Alexander asked curiously, "if Old Bill hadn't spoken up... would you have stepped in?"
"Of course!" Zane said without hesitation. "Don't look at the low cost of the movie. I am very optimistic about it. Spending a few more dollars on ads? I can afford it!"
Zane knew that My Big Fat Greek Wedding was going to break records. Was he kidding? No way!
But... he also knew the competition was tough.
When things get tough, should you run away? No! Zane now had the confidence to go head-to-head with the big studios.
"Who's afraid of whom?" he thought. "Just do it!"
In the next few days, Wald Pictures spent another$3 million on ads.
That meant they had spent $6 million on ads for a movie that hadn't even come out yet! That was huge for a Valentine's Day movie. It was definitely the most heavily advertised movie of the holiday.
...
Sure enough, the competition was fierce.
Message in a Bottle came out on February 12th and made $8 million in its first two days. That was a great start for a movie that only cost $4 million to make!
The bosses at Warner Group noticed Zane's big ad campaign.
"Is Wald's new movie coming out?" one boss asked. "Tell our media friends to suppress it! Don't let them get any good press. I will not allow them to hurt our movie!"
Warner Group was one of the biggest and most powerful studios in Hollywood.
But Zane's Wald Pictures was rising fast. It was the leader of the new, smaller studios.
This Valentine's Day clash was going to be like a comet hitting the earth. It was the first time Zane would go head-to-head with one of the "Big Six" giants.
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